The gradual disintegration of Ukraine and of its military machine is continuing, and the process seems to have been noticed by the people at the top.

Even Poroshenko’s rhetoric has lost much of its earlier sting, although Poroshenko is still holding out hope that the Western powers will come to Ukraine’s assistance out of the fear of the Russian Bear. He went so far as to say during his recent visit to the United States that perhaps NATO would find it interesting to learn how to defeat Russia. Although it is not clear whom NATO is supposed to learn that lesson from. Surely not Ukraine, whose own military has excelled only at shelling civilians on the Donbass??? While at the UN, Poroshenko also said that the Donbass War is costing Ukraine $5 million a day. That works out to a cool $18 BILLION a year. Poroshenko merely used his UN speech to engage in another round of begging for money in the face of Ukraine’s debt default. Ukraine’s military manpower seems to be unimpressed by the billions of dollars spent on its upkeep and equipment, and is also trending downward. In addition to the decision not to proceed with the 7th wave of mobilization and to send the 3rd wave mobilizees home, Ukraine also announced it will greatly reduce the planned number of conscripts this fall, to only 10 thousand warm bodies. Since the masses won’t fight for the Kiev regime, there is now talk of creating a single elite brigade staffed, trained, and equipped up to NATO standards, which is to serve as an example for the rest of the Ukrainian military to emulate. Possibly that brigade will consist of units assigned to the joint Ukrainian, Polish, and Lithuanian brigade which the three countries agreed to form, with headquarters in the Polish city of Lublin.

In practical terms, this elite brigade would amount to nothing more than a “presidential guard” because the rest of the UAF, stripped of modern equipment and capable leaders, could never hope to match the chosen unit.

Life in contemporary Ukraine must be very hard indeed, because Ukrainian military living conditions remain extremely poor. If you are fan of eating insects (a major source of protein, apparently, which can’t be found in Ukrainian military rations)… …or rats… ..sleeping in mud… …and being generally treated like livestock (to the point of being actually quartered in a horse stable)… …then the Ukrainian Armed Forces are just the place for you!

Sure, there are people who complain, but not to worry: Ukrainian propaganda is on the job, attempting to shore up morale. Judging by the press coverage of the fighting, that aspect of Ukraine’s military effort is working extremely well. But then again, perhaps that’s what Poroshenko spends his daily $5 million on.

Because he is certainly not spending it on equipment. The Zhitomir-designed Ovod APC, whose prototype was mentioned in last week’s Ukraine Military Report, turns out to be a nice little deathtrap made for really, really short and really, really thin people. The troop compartment is not much better. Seriously, it’s a prototype, and it’s already falling apart?

Elsewhere in Ukraine, the Right Sector has taken advantage of the “blockade” of Crimea to engage in some good old-fashioned plundering of the civilian population of the Kherson Region. The Azov Regiment commander Biletsky is worrying that once the Donbass holds official, recognized, election it will mean the end of the war on Novorossia’s terms and deprive Ukraine of the ability to impose a military solution.

Ultimately it is these formations that represent the greatest danger of war. They, and their political patrons both within the Ukraine’s political elite and among Ukraine’s “Western partners.” Their power is not being diminished by the gradual dissolution of the UAF. To the contrary, it appears to be increasing.